(Because I didn’t know what else to make)
I have people over for dinner every Monday. I use it as an opportunity to test out new recipes… (Oh and see my best pals regularly!).
This week I had absolutely no clue what the hell I was going to make. I was starting to feel like I was out of ideas.
I also wanted something moderately healthy because I do enjoy tricking people into eating low fat food. It’s like a sport to me.
I went back through my old posts and noticed that the Spinach and Artichoke Stromboli had the most views and figured, “meh… let’s put that shit in some chicken and see what happens”.
I used the same dip recipe from before, but I used low fat cheeses and I’m not gonna lie. It’s pretty damn delicious.
Here is what you need.
-2 (8 oz.) bricks of 1/3 less fat cream cheese (I mean you can use whole fat if you’re one of those skinny people or whatever) softened (like my midsection).
-4 oz. Low fat shredded Italian cheese blend (again whole fat if you’re better than me).
-3 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese (luckily for you this cheese is naturally low fat so we don’t have to alter your beliefs and go low fat here).
-1 package of frozen spinach (the kind in the annoying card board box that I can't remember the size of) thawed and drained (and by drained, I mean squeeze the shit out of it wrapped in a dish towel so literally ALL of the moisture is gone).
-1 can of artichokes (drained like my soul) and roughly chopped.
-The juice of 1 small lemon (and you know I don’t mean that plastic lemon nonsense!).
-1/2 tsp. salt (cheese is salty, but if you taste it and feel like you need to add more I get it. We used sad cheese here and acceptations must be made).
-1/2 tsp. black pepper.
-1/4 – 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (I like things spicy you may not. I judge you for it but I accept it).
-1 and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder.
-6 large chicken breasts that have been pounded flat (this is an excellent way to work out pent up aggression… not that I have that or anything).
-Long tooth picks (for holding the chicken closed and for accidentally stabbing yourself with when you’re crankily stuffing chicken breasts).
-Olive oil.
-1/2 cup crushed (reduced fat because we’re sad) potato chips (optional).
OK Kiddos. Let’s make the dip.
NOTE: I made the dip the night before so it was nice and cold for stuffing (which sounds like a personal problem).
Also, this will make more dip than you need for the chicken, but who doesn’t want more spinach and artichoke dip in their lives? Find me that person now so I can judge them to their face.
In a large bowl (or stand mixer if you have finally joined the club), dump (classy and technical term) two 8 oz. bricks of softened cream cheese (be so proud of yourself for remembering to soften it), the 4 oz. (sad low fat or part skim) Italian cheese blend (which BTW is not all low fat just partially), the 3 oz. parm, the juice of one small (fresh like me) lemon, ½ tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, the 1 and ½ tsp. garlic powder and the ¼- ½ tsp. Crushed red pepper and mix until completely blended.
Add the drained and chopped artichokes and the drained (intensely squeezed) spinach and mix some more.
Cover and store in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or overnight if you’re awesome like me… be careful not to eat it).
To prepare the chicken:
Pound out the 6 chicken breasts until they are flat enough to stuff and hold closed with tooth picks (no this is not super descriptive but it’s all I got kids).
Salt and pepper both sides (I did not include these ingredients but you already have the salt and pepper so hush).
Take half the spinach and artichoke dip out of the fridge and place in a separate container from the original (this is to prevent your leftover dip from getting all raw chickeny and to protect you from getting salmonella. You’re welcome).
Using a spoon (or your hands when you get fed up with using the spoon) add a few tbsp. of the dip onto the flattened breast (hehehe) and fold closed, using the toothpicks to hold in place (here is a picture since I suck at descriptions).
Place the chicken back in the refrigerator (covered because we’re not gross) for about 15 minutes or as long as it takes to preheat your oven.
Oh… Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Add a good amount of olive oil to the bottom of a baking dish (I used a shallow Dutch oven because it has a lid and it was a gift and I’m obsessed with it but if you don’t have people who love you and will buy you presents, use any baking dish and cover with tin foil for baking).
Place the stuffed breasts (hehehe) seam side up in the pan and drizzle with a little more olive oil.
Bake covered for 20-25 minutes.
After the chicken has cooked for 20 minutes or so and is almost completely done, remove the cover and add the optional crushed potato chips (my nod to chips and dip!) and bake for 5-10 more minutes.
NOTE: the cook time depends on the oven and chicken. Check it half way through you want an internal temp (on the chicken not the dip) of 165 degrees and no pink inside.
Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
Remove the toothpicks (or don’t if you wanna injure your guests. I won’t tell).
Serve with your favorite white wine… oh and veggies or something…
Marvel at how it doesn’t taste low fat and how our cheese concessions were OK after all.
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